MIDDLE-AGED WOMEN 40-60ish

I love it has headlights! too strange

I think the headlights are so you know which way it's going....

I would probably end us up in the, at least my 15yr DS thinks my driving is bad. I guess he should know having all that experience and such.



Up date on SIL, they removed all the tubes and had her sitting up for a little while. We are getting bits and pieces of the reason this happened. It seems after her hysterectomy 12 years ago and with time part of her intestine moved into the space that was left and ended up getting twisted. I did not know that would happen and something to be noted if your approaching that stage.

hmmmmm, my everything out hysterectomy was in '98-I too was never given any idea that twisted intestines might be an after effect-here's hoping your SIL was just 1 in a billion mjb!

mjbmiller, glad to hear your SIL is getting better.. CANDY, i have no answers, but i think its' WONDERFUL that you are having to ask the question!!!hahah 3jays

I used to have a cervical cap, but I'm not sure how widely available they are in the US. I got mine as part of a clinical trial. It has advantages over a diaphragm - it's smaller, can be left in place several days at a time, and doesn't need to be refitted with weight changes.

Later I had a tubal ligation, and that's a good permanent solution, but probably more than you want to undergo if you're perimenopausal.

Good luck.

I must have sensed that I was being quoted!

Tamoxifen and IUD's are mutually exclusive - you can't use an IUD if you're on Tamoxifen. Something to do with the excitability of uterine tissue with the Tamoxifen. My gynecologist, who sweetly seems to think that somewhere in the midst of random discharge, pelvic discomfort, lengthy menstrual tsunamis* and mood swings I'm actually having sex, highly recommends something permanent, like tubal ligation. One of Tamoxifen's treats is that it can enhance fertility, which is a very bad thing in this case. He thought condoms were okay short term (I'm with Barbe - if this is a new person, please use one - there's been a HUGE increase in STD's in our age range due to people being "back in the game" and not using appropriate protection), but really suggested something serious if we're done having children, which we are. Anyway - you should ask your gynecologist - make sure he/she knows about the Tamoxifen and the new partner.

Just popped in - I missed pages and pages and pages, but I've been busy and don't have time to catch up. Lots of new voices! Glad to see bonding is still heavily in process!

* menstrual tsunami - ridiculously heavy period - term stolen from Elimar!!!!

Coleen

Hello Ladies I just found this forum, I am in the 40-60ish category or should I say that I am going to be 51 years old in June. After what I have gone through since first being dx with breast cancer in all honesty I sometimes feel much older.

It is just over 13 months since finishing chemotherapy and nearly a year since finishing radiation therapy and am now on Tamoxifen for 5 years.  You know sometimes it feels like just yesterday that I was going through these treatments.

Now I am suffering with 'frozen shoulder', and have brough this to both the attention of my MO and Radiation Oncologist of whom both say that it is not the result of radiation therapy, and even saw my breast surgeon today and he did not make much of it....  so am stumped grrrr   I first started to notice that I had problem with my right shoulder/arm in September, but it did not get really bad until November....

But as my husband keeps telling me, life has got to go on...  I have been trying to pick up my life again...

Guess just waiting for the good weather to come around, will then be more in the spirit of things.

Charmainejensenvoisine-the "cause" of frozen shoulder is lack of use of the shoulder joint. We have lots of reasons for limiting the use of a shoulder, pain after lumpectomy, especially with SNB or axillary node dissection. Radiation does affect the muscle under the breast that is involved with shoulder movement and adds to the problem. In the long run it does not matter which treatment "caused" the problem, you need one of them to give you a referral to a physical therapist. The docs work FOR you, so pick one and tell them you need a PT referral and persist until you get one. Frozen shoulder can be reversed with PT. My brother went through that a few years back. It took some time and work, but he now has full range of motion and is bowling competitively again. The sooner you get into PT the quicker the problem can be reversed. I was on the road to a frozen shoulder due to the damage to the muscle, one PT visit gave me the stretches and exercises I needed to stop the problem in it's tracks. The Rad Onc adamantly stated that radiation does not cause any side effects except a "sunburn like" skin reaction-hah. My Med Onc referred me to PT for lymphedema and frozen shoulder prevention. IMHO Rad Oncs are jack a$$es, see your primary provider and get a referral.

Feel a little better.  Can't tell if it is stomach or nausea.

My onc tested my estradiol levels last visit and she assures me that I am nowhere near menopause with the high levels.  Can't blame my irritability on that yet.

Well I'm a bit somewhereinbetween all of this. I think I have too much information and of course that keeps me questioning. Not a bad thing it's just until I can get something definitive I'm sure I 'll be wondering am I out of the woods. I recieved my path report back and it said lymphnodes were negative and all margins were cleared for cancer. hiphip hoooray!!!!! I say. Thank you Lord. However I have a question that I'm not clear about. Initially I chose the masectomy because I figured I would escape chemotherapy and radiation treatments but due to my age and being pre menapause. Is it necessary that I still have treatment done even with the knowledge that I do have.